Both circular saws and band saws are employed by the metal industry for continuously cutting or trimming aluminum and other nonferrous and ferrous metals. These saws operate at high speeds creating saw blade friction which both damages the blade and slows the cutting process. The operation of lubricating the blade or the metal to be cut helps to reduce the friction and increases the overall performance of the cutting operation.
Prior devices, such as a product known as “UNI-MIST”(™), have been developed which deliver an atomized liquid lubrication medium to a cutting apparatus, such as a saw. Other devices have been developed in the railroad industry for continuously applying lubricants in a stick form to railroad car wheel. Such a device is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,305,853 and 5,054,582.
It is a common industry practice for a saw operator to apply lubricant to a running saw blade by rubbing the moving saw blade with a solid block of tallow. In the aluminum industry, a solid lubricant is the preferred medium for lubricating saw blades since liquid lubricants are unable to be localized in application. This results in saturating the shavings with the lubricating medium. Such saturated shavings interfere with the ability to recycle the aluminum shavings. The railroad car wheel lubricators are effective in applying a single stick or multiple sticks to a surface to be lubricated. However, saw blades must be lubricated on opposing sides evenly. Additionally, a continuous saw blade lubricator must be able to withstand the damaging effects of band saw blade breakage which can damage machinery in the path of a moving broken blade.
The present inventor is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,335, issued on Nov. 24, 1998. This patent describes an apparatus for continuously lubricating operating circular and band saw blades with solid or semisolid lubricant. The lubricant contacts both sides of the blade by use of opposing lubricant tube ends. There is disclosed a single loading cylinder with automated lubricant feeding circuitry.
FIG. 1 illustrates of this prior art system. The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a lubricant canister 10, clamping blocks 30, and a control unit 50. The canister 10 is a reservoir for lubricant 15 to be delivered via tubing 20 to the clamping blocks 30. The clamping blocks 30 maintain the end of tubing 21 in close proximity with a saw blade 60 so that the lubricant 15 is deposited upon the rotating saw blade 60.
The canister 10 functions as a lubricant reservoir and is constructed cylindrically of a lightweight durable material, such as aluminum. A means for delivering the lubricant from the canister 10 to the saw blade 60 includes a “Y” connection 14, tubing 20 and clamping block 30. The “Y” connection 14 is fixedly secured to a central aperture of the canister 10. This aperture provides a passageway for lubricant 15 to exit the canister 10 and to be divided into two lubricant streams. Two separate pieces of plastic tubing 20 are connected to each leg of the “Y” connection 14 by a conventional tubing connection 16. The tubing connection 16 includes a compression fitting, a swage lock connection, a butt connection or some other suitable fitting. The tubing 20 is composed of plastic, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, or other suitable commercial plastic. The plastic tubing 20 does not extrude and should have suitable flexibility to adapt the apparatus to saws with different dimensions. The end 21 of each piece of tubing 20 is in close proximity to saw blade 60. This end 21 is held in a proper position by the clamping block 30. The clamping blocks 30 are blocks that are used to secure the ends of the tubing 21 and further to securely position the ends 21 in close proximity to the saw blade 60. The tubing ends 21 should be placed close enough to the moving saw blade 60 so that the exiting lubricant 15 will be placed upon the moving saw blade. The ends of the tubing can act as sacrificial tubing and can be cut by the saw blade if they approach too closely to the saw blade. A mounting plate 40 serves to securely position the blocks 30 on each side of the saw blade 60.
FIG. 1 also discloses a means for displacing the lubricant from the canister 10. This includes a canister cap 9, a piston located within the canister 10 a threaded ram 7, and a stepper motor. The canister cap 9 is positioned upon the top end of the canister 10 and is threadedly secured to the canister 10. The canister cap 9 has a cavity that includes the stepper motor therein. The threaded rim 7 is a continuously threaded rod of metal with a means for securing the piston on one end. The stepper motor is controlled by the controller 50. The controller 50 has a suitable power source. The controller 50 has a data entry means, such as a keyboard, which allows the user to enter a desired stepper motor speed. A heating means 70 is wrapped around the conical section of the canister 10. The heating means 70 is a conventional electrical resistance heater which is wired to the controller 50 through wiring 71. The controller 50 controls the temperature of the conical area so that the lubricant 15 in the canister 10 will be more fluid and more easily pumped into the tubing 20. The controller 50 is attached to the canister 10 by bands 56 which wrap around the canister 10.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a saw blade lubricating apparatus which deposits solid lubricant on a saw blade.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a saw blade lubricating apparatus which effectively places the solid lubricant on both sides of the saw blade and into the gullets of the blade.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a saw blade lubricating apparatus which is relatively easy to load with solid lubricant.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a saw blade lubricating apparatus which avoids Y-shaped adapters, heaters and stepper motors.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a saw blade lubricating apparatus in which the drive piston can be easily retracted in a fast and efficient manner.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.